Sitting in.....another campground, tying my all time record of 2 nights in a row, set the last time we were in this neck of the woods.

We docked short at superaben's house to drop off the cargo.

Ben is going to do a Refurb/Refresh on the 1886 Forklift. Not a full restore, just putting it into good mechanical condition, plus a repaint and new decals. It is after all going to be a working tractor, not a trailer queen.

We had a nice long chat, and it was a very nice visit. Got to see his Farmall Super A that is the inspiration of his screen name. Danged nice looking tractor. I guess that it doesn't hurt that I'm a 'Red Fan' and the letter series in particular when it comes to farm tractors.

We will be weighing anchor pretty early in the morning for our next leg of the journey which is the Skyline Drive, going from South to North.

Just as a warning, the cargo hold (trailer) is empty, so no rare Bolens or attachment between here and the home port is safe now

it was a dull and cloudy morning as we left the campground, and made our way to the Skyline Drive.

It got cloudier, and greyer, and finally starting spitting a bit of rain as we approached the entrance, which definitely put this into another 'successful' tractor related trip

The weather wasn't looking promising, and for a good portion of the drive, it proved to be just that. Lots of fog, and off and on drizzle.

It was really strange driving it this time as it was almost deserted. In the first 54 miles (we stopped at the 51.5 mile marker for lunch) we counted only 34 cars coming the other way, and a good number of those were park maintenance vehicles. It was almost spooky!

We weren't disappointed with the poor weather as it gave the drive a special sort of beauty all it's own.

As the day progressed into mid afternoon, the weather improved, and we actually saw some bright sunshine.

Also, this time there was a plethora of 'Bambies' wondering about. No bears though.

On the lunch, if any of you folks take the drive, be sure to stop at Mile 51.5 and get the Virginia Ham and Swiss Cheese sandwich in the restaurant at Big Meadows. It was awesome. LOTS of nice Virginia salt cured ham.

Anyhow, here are a few vids. The first three are early in the trip where we saw the fog rolling up the mountain side, then a bit of driving through the fog, and last, going through the tunnel in the late afternoon after the sun came out.

This be the 2nd mate (AKA #1 son) bringin' the log to ye this evenin', as Cap'n Buzz be restin' up after tonight's leg.

Against the recommendations of the rest of the crew, navigators included, we plotted course for Cincinnati along the US-50 lane, as it be the shortest route in leagues covered. I recommended the Interstate's trade winds and earlier arrival time, but captain's prerogative won out.

Along our course, we set out to pick up a necessary piece for our head, as the old one decided to give up the ghost.

This in itself became an adventure, as Cap'n Buzz again chose the shortest route, leading us almost to the edge of the earth itself! (AKA a dead end street) Despite my lookout abilities and bungled warning, it was damn the dragons, full-speed ahead, and only when the open maws were in sight did we finally hike up the sails and carefully tack our way back on course.

Our supplies in-hand, it was back on course for my home port, where I'll be taking my leave from the crew before the last leg back to the port of Oberlin. What nobody, even the navigators knew, is that this lane through the seas of West Virginia were rougher than we anticipated (some SERIOUS curves going up and down the mountains in WV). A winding lane, filled with more twists and turns than even a kraken's tentacle can manage to achieve, tested our skills and drained our stamina.

After only a few hours, we consulted our charts, and found a port known as the Club of Sam, where we are berthed tonight. With everything we had gone through, we'd decided to dig into rations of the grog we'd pillaged back in Virginia (we'd picked up a bottle of Virginia Table Wine on the Skyline Drive). Fortunately, our lane intersects with the Interstate's more favorable winds, and I hope to have our captain see the light along with the mornin's.

What nobody, even the navigators knew, is that this lane through the seas of West Virginia were rougher than we anticipated (some SERIOUS curves going up and down the mountains in WV). A winding lane, filled with more twists and turns than even a kraken's tentacle can manage to achieve, tested our skills and drained our stamina.

You took the Rainmaker on Rt 50?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Through western MD and eastern WV?

Don't get me wrong. 50 is a GREAT driving road, along the lines of the Tail of the Dragon in the Blue Ridge mountains. But in a motor home?

Well now I gotta say that the HMS Rainmaker handled it just fine. A LOT of 9% grades, both up and down, and more than one (read that as a LOT) of 15 and 20 MPH curves. The big Ford V10 was singing a song on the up hills, but never missed a beat. I spent a lot of time in 2nd gear on the downhill side to save the brakes, and they held up fine.

I gotta say, Winnebago did a fine job when they built the HMS Rainmaker.

The Cap'n however, was a wreck

It wasn't TOO bad at first, but after it got dark......

The 2nd mate was a bit kind about the "bungled warning and dead end street". What he didn't say that as a result of me missing that turn, on a VERY narrow road, is that I had to back this rascal up for about 100 yds. or so. T'wasn't an easy job with that trailer.

We went from Front Royal Va. to Clarksburg WV. before we stopped for the night. That was roughly 170 miles on Rt. 50. I will NOT do that again. Once was enough

When we left this morning we plotted a course that was all Interstate, and a LOT easier driving.

Right now we are back in Miamitown, Oh. which is just outside or Cincinnati, and parked at my good friends bar, where I consumed more than one 'adult beverage'.